Three Men And A Bed
by ProLazy
Summary: Sam, Dean, and Castiel turn up at a motel one night to find there is only one room left and it only has a double bed. They take the room, but when Castiel offers to sleep on the cold floor it raises more emotional problems than expected.


**A/N: I decided to write this story because Castiel needs some taking care of! Just a silly (super cheesy) idea that came to me from nowhere. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

When Sam, Dean, and Castiel traipsed into the motel wet and covered in mud the receptionist looked quite alarmed.

Their exhaustion was evident as they dragged their feet across the floor. They had just vanquished a nest of vampires and none of them could find the will power to drive back to the bunker that night, so they ended up at the nearest temporary accommodation.

Dean and Castiel held back to let Sam deal with the receptionist.

"Two rooms please. One double and one single."

"I'm sorry, sweetie, we only have one room left and it only has a double bed" she replied.

Sam heard Dean groan. They all needed to shower and sleep, but they were off the beaten track and the next feasible motel was a good couple of hours drive away.

"We'll take it" Sam huffed. He couldn't put up with his brother's bitching if they had to leave; at least this way he could escape to the shower for a while.

The receptionist handed over the key and the three men headed back across the parking lot to find the right room.

As soon as they got into to fairly small chamber Dean fell down on to the bed face first and let out a low groan.

"Man, I'm sore all over."

"What are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements?" Castiel inquired.

"Well... I guess two of us can share the bed" Sam responded.

"Dude, no way" Dean scoffed like a petulant teenager. "That's so weird."

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's only weird if you make it weird, Dean."

"What about the Impala?" Castiel suggested.

"It's too cold to stay in there tonight" Sam said.

"Oh...well the two of you can share the bed and I'll sleep on the floor" Castiel offered.

"That doesn't seem fair" Sam replied. "We're all equally worn out and need some decent sleep. We should flip a coin or keep swapping with the bed-"

"The man is offering, Sam" Dean cut in, his voice extremely muffled by the pillow. "Don't reject his good will. There's a sleeping bag in Baby's trunk if it'll help."

"I really don't mind" Castiel assured Sam who was looking concerned. "When I worked at the Gas 'n' Sip I slept on the stockroom floor every night. I'm used to it."

He offered a small smile before leaving the room to go and get the sleeping bag.

Sam looked around at his brother and saw Dean watching guiltily. He still felt bad about making Cas leave the bunker.

"Do you think there's a chance he's just trying to emotionally manipulate us?" he asked.

"I don't think he knows what that is" Sam replied.

"I'm going to take a shower" Dean announced. He hurried into the bathroom before his younger brother could put on his puppy dog eyes.

Sam sat on the end of the bed and made the effort to pull his boots off. Castiel returned with the sleeping bag and went to position it on the floor.

"Cas, I don't mind switching up with you" Sam offered. It was making him feel even worse watching Castiel roll out the bag like it was no big deal.

"It's okay. You and Dean are brothers, so I'm sure that will making sharing the bed less awkward."

Sam gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I'm not sure Dean would agree. We haven't shared a bed since I was six and he made me watch _The Shining_. I was petrified."

"I see. Gabriel use to let me stay in his nest when Lucifer and Michael were fighting loudly."

Sam looked surprised. "Really? Gabriel didn't seem like the affectionate type."

"Neither does Dean at first glance, but he'd do anything for you. You're brothers."

"Yeah, that's true I guess."

Dean came out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel and already stripped down to his loose boxers and a t-shirt.

"God that feels so much better" he moaned.

"Please don't address my father like that" Castiel said.

"Oh, sorry" Dean said sheepishly.

"Why don't you use the shower next, Cas?"

"Alright. Thank you, Sam."

Sam waited until the bathroom door clicked before he turned to Dean. The older Winchester was sat on the bed and had flicked on the TV.

"No" he implored as soon as he saw Sam's pleading expression.

"He's only small..."

"People aren't small, Sam, you're just a freakin' giant."

"But he's only just getting used to being human. We made him homeless and he had to spend weeks sleeping on the cold hard ground. We just got him back and it's like we're casting him aside again!"

"He's going to be right at the end of the bed, Sam" Dean argued before the guilt could start eating at him again.

"He's our friend, Dean, not our dog!"

"Why is this bothering you so much!?"

"I just told you! We've treated him like crap recently and he's had a really rough time. Why aren't you more concerned?"

"Because just being near Cas right now makes me even angrier at myself! I know what he went through when he fell was my fault and he's not even mad at me! I just want to let him do what he's happy to do. I'm not going to force him to do anything right now. Not after what I made him do last time."

Sam sighed and shook his head a little with defeat. "Okay."

When Castiel came back into the room dressed similarly to Dean, Sam swapped with him and the former angel approached the bed.

"May I sit with you to watch television until Sam returns?"

"Yeah man, no need to ask" Dean replied.

Castiel gave an affirmative nod. When he went to sit on the bed Dean didn't miss the small wince he gave. The former angel rubbed his back and when his t-shirt lifted up a little Dean saw the long purple bruise.

"Hey, when did that happen?" he asked with a frown.

He forgot to ask permission to lift Cas' shirt again as worry took over him. He just wanted to make sure he wasn't bleeding.

"I fell over when one of the vampires was chasing me" Castiel recalled. "It's alright. I'm lucky this was my only injury, really."

"Oh, Cas" Dean sighed. He dropped the other man's t-shirt once he was convinced there was no severe damage. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's nothing. It only hurts when I move around too much."

"Maybe you _should_ have the bed. Sleeping on the floor won't be good for your back."

"Dean, really, I insist that I be the one to sleep on the floor."

"Why?"

Castiel shrugged; a human gesture he had recently picked up on. "Part of my penance I suppose. I'll sleep in a bed when I think I deserve it."

Dean looked sadly at his friend. "Cas-"

"Man, I'm ready to hit the hay" Sam yawned when he came out of the bathroom.

"Yes, I'm also quite weary" Castiel said reiterating the yawn.

Dean was a little disappointed with Sam's interruption and wanted to say something more to Cas - even if it was the usual reminder that it wasn't his fault; he'd been tricked and thought he was doing the right thing.

Instead, Castiel shuffled off the bed and crawled into the sleeping bag on the floor.

"Goodnight to both of you" he said with one last yawn.

"G'night, Cas" Sam replied.

Castiel rolled over so that his back was facing the brothers.

"Alright, let's do this" Dean mumbled as he stood up to pull back the bedsheets. "You just make sure you stay way over that side."

Sam rolled his eyes and flopped down on the right side of the bed, Dean laying on the left. He pulled the covers up and switched the TV and the light off.

They were plunged into darkness and Dean closed his eyes, however, he found he couldn't sleep. Part of the cause was because of the low room temperature, but he couldn't hog the covers to keep warm. Secondly, he couldn't stop thinking of Cas, but he couldn't even bring himself to look at the former angel.

Dean flipped over with a huff to be met by Sam. He could just about make out his brother's saddened expression. The younger Winchester shook his head - he couldn't sleep either.

Sam propped himself up slightly to look at Castiel and his troubled frown became deeper. He turned back to Dean and jerked his head in Cas' direction as if to say 'just look at him.'

Dean sighed and sat up a little too. He could see that Cas was curled up as tight as possible with only a tuft of dark hair poking out of the bag. He could hear the rustling as Castiel shook violently - he must be freezing.

"Cas?" Dean asked.

"Mmm."

"Cas, you awake?" Dean tried again. He couldn't stand this any longer.

Castiel rolled over and looked at him through bleary eyes.

"Yes, Dean?"

The older Winchester was sure he'd never heard the former angel sound so meek.

"Get your ass over here. You're not sleeping on the floor. It's too cold."

"But where should I go?" Castiel asked anxiously as he sat up. "Are you going to make me leave again?"

Dean gulped back a sudden lump in his throat as he didn't miss how Castiel's voice caught slightly at the end. Maybe that was another reason Cas had said he would sleep on the floor and hadn't told them he was hurt - he was afraid if he appeared to be a burden he'd be kicked out and homeless once more.

"No, of course not" Sam answered quickly as it was apparent Dean was struggling to speak. "We want you right here with us were you're comfortable and we know you're safe."

"Yeah, exactly. I meant that you need to get in the bed with us" Dean re-affirmed. "You know, sharing body heat to keep warm and all that crap" he added, rubbing the back of neck awkwardly.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother. Will we all fit?"

"You're never a bother, Cas" Sam assured him.

"We'll make it work" Dean promised as he rolled out of the bed. "You're only two scrawny nerds anyways."

Castiel wasn't sure what to say to that, but he supposed that he was too tired to fight it anymore and he knew that Sam and Dean must feel the same.

"Alright, I will join you" Castiel said with a small smile.

He struggled out of the sleeping bag and headed over to the bed.

"You get in the middle" Dean instructed. "And lay however is more comfortable for your back."

"What's wrong with your back?" Sam asked worriedly.

"It's just a little bruised" Castiel said as he slipped onto the mattress next to Sam. "Dean said it was nothing severe."

Sam looked to his brother for confirmation and Dean gave a firm nod. Sam sighed with relief; he couldn't bare he thought of Castiel suffering again.

"Alright" Dean said as he got back into the bed and settled down. "Everyone shut up and go to sleep. When we got up in the morning we never speak of this again."

It was a tight squeeze as predicted, but he took great comfort in knowing exactly where Cas was this time - warm and safely tucked between him and his brother.

The hunter was finally able to fall into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Castiel was the first to wake in the morning.

His eyes fluttered open and realised he was feeling even more restricted in his space than when he had fallen asleep.

He soon realised this was because - whether it had been subconsciously in their sleep or not, Cas wasn't sure of - Dean had his arm protectively wrapped across Castiel's waist, and Sam was doing the same just below his shoulders. It was like they were afraid someone would take Cas away and they'd made some kind of mutual agreement not to let that happen. He wasn't going anywhere without them knowing about it.

Castiel smiled contently to himself - this was the first time that he'd felt wanted and as if he were part of a family in a long time.

He looked at Dean's watch and saw it was only seven. A couple more hours of sleep couldn't hurt.

Castiel sighed happily as he closed his eyes once more.

For once, everything felt at peace.


End file.
